--While in the basement setting peanut butter smeared traps, I discovered a window with a huge leak and a wall of crumbling and soaking wet drywall

--Had my brand new security alarm malfunction on three separate occasions, once blasting the alarm at 3AM, once while I was at the doctor getting a flu shot and once while I was in the shower

--Received literally hundreds of Anonymous SPAM comments for moderation, thanks to the wonderful Huffington Post, for p-rn, er-ctile disfuncti-n, @ntidepress@ants and s-xy long@rie-- all of which I accidentally "published" instead of "deleted" from my blog.

--And my friend's dog has fleas. I know this for a fact based on the 23 flea bites I'm now sporting.

Happy New Year- Woo-hoo!

All that in just twenty-one days! Father Time has a sense of humor and apparently thinks I believe in turning the other cheek. But I say WHOA! I am not having a year of crazy again. No way!

--A 103rd birthday party for my friend Sal-- who has, by the way, already reserved a hall for his 105th birthday bash! I'm going to spend as much time with Sal as possible. I love him dearly and hope some of his great health and positive attitude rubs off on me.

--More time with my family in Ohio including a trip in April to Indiana for a shopping spree at their fave Vera Bradley sale.

--Graduation celebrations with three loved one, two in Ohio and one in Baltimore

--Yoga classes, I really need them

--Volunteering for an arts education program for public schools. I've worked with this program for years and enjoy the kids very much.

--Chocolate-- Yes, I'm scheduling chocolate on my calendar and planning to take a couple of baking classes with chocolate as the main ingredient.

--And, a serious commitment to more and regular blogging. I find writing and communicating with all of you good for my heart and soul so I'm working to get back in the swing-- which means spending significantly less time wondering aimlessly on Pinterest.

My apologizes for the delay in wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year. I hope it brings wonderful adventures, good times, great health and a whole lot of fun!

Fleas, mouse poop and saggy drywall..yuck. I am definitely having a much better year so far...Woot! Just migraines and congestive heart failure! Ha!Have a better time of it...me too for that matter!HugsSUeAnn

I am having a pretty good year so far. Three weeks in isn't much of a test, though. In YOUR case, however, I would be thinking of starting over. I leave for a visit in Florida in three days, where the warm sunshine will kiss me for two whole weeks! :-)

Joanna, you should start writing a book about life in your house, drawing on your experiences with:descending poolgiant micemalfunctioning alarmsuper dadpesky real estate guyect.You get the idea. I would read it.

I don't know if you have pets, but please do your best to get rid of the mouse problem. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. We had a problem at our old place and our indoor cats caught fleas from them! Which, of course, meant I was bitten too. Eek.

I hope the rest of your year improves. It's only 3 weeks in, so I'm sure it will!

Wow, you have just had a rough beginning to the new year JJ. I know it will turn around and it sounds like you have so many ways to inject positive into your life. Take care my friend and try not to let the first 21 days get to you. Hugs!!

My mother always said that if you have mice, you will not have rats. But if you have ONE mouse, you have a hundred. [ok, what did she know, anyway??] We have 3 cats. The mice come in, then they run away... Hoping all improves from this post forward.

Sorry to hear the New Year is off to a rough start. I like your ideas on how to weather it. I, too, have had to become creative to avoid getting bogged down in what life has thrown at me. My list includes getting out with my friends for lunch more often, joining some clubs and also more blogging. Here's to a fabulous New Year!

Are you sure it's mouse poop and not a big giant rat? I think you may need to get a big giant cat. :)

I'm so sorry that your new year hasn't started out the best but the things placed on your schedule sound exciting and fun! Can you add coming out to Oregon as a part of that schedule? I would sure like to visit with you again.

As for the spam, I feel your pain. I have so many right now that I need to clean out my blog completely.

We get our fair share of the 'other' and it takes up way too much of our time and thoughts. Or it does for me as I obsess over everthing. You have had a trying first few weeks of 2013 it seems. And you have lots to look forward to as well.

Sal sounds like an inspiration indeed. I always wonder how some people get to that age - sure it much be genetics and luck and good health but I think it must be so much more too. I hope you write about him some more on your blog this year and inspire all of us. I think we have a lot to learn.

And yes, to more blogging. The momentum is hard sometimes to keep writing but you are gifted and I always love reading what you have to say. You have a gift, remember that.

Yoga? Oh how I have tried to do it and always never quite pulled it off. Good luck with it.

And it sounds like you will have loads of family events this year. The older I get the more time I spend with my family it seems - and I am not complaining.

Finally, thank you so much for the Christmas decoration I won from your giveaway. It was waiting for me on my return home. I sent a message to Atilla and will mention it on my next post as well. Very beautiful indeed.

What a great idea, Joanna, scheduling good things and planning on doing them, bringing good cheer into your life by appointment. I like this. I will be adding some things to my calendar this weekend. That will be the first opportunity as I am booked solid this week. Some weeks are like that, even in ice and snow. Hugs to you, my dear, and I enjoy hearing how things are going for you.

Well, the main thing I've done, after a couple years of pain and anxiety, is get a new left shoulder. Surgery was Fri afternoon and I'm really doing well. My postop pain is way less than preop. Worst thing is just having to keep that arm in a sling & not use it for weeks. I still haven't gotten the Dragon software finished on my computer so I'm doing one fingered typing. PT starts Feb 11. First grandson is due Apr 21 & I hope to return to India in late May.

I hope you don't faint, finding a comment from me. I loved your post, sounds almost like my new beginning. Got sick, cough, the works, even my hair hurt. Got a nose bleed that wouldn't stop till minor emergency fixed it. Also had several mice, my cat (a great mouser) brings them in and plops them right in front of me like a gift. Got a tooth ache, Dentist in Atlanta so still on antibiotics till Tuesday. How dare him to leave town when I am in pain. It hasn't rained in over a year. One day it is 66 degrees and the next day it is 29 degrees. I definitely need to check on you more often. I am going to take a nap and try to forget it is 2013.

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